Oppo to start manufacturing smartphones in India

The company has recently informed BSE that there have been talks with the Government of Uttar Pradesh

With an aim to increase its market share and presence in India, Chinese handset maker Oppo is taking big steps into the country by settting up its own production and assembling unit in Greater Noida and by entering into online sales segment.

The company has recently informed Bombay Stock Exchange that there have been talks with the Government of Uttar Pradesh with respect to setting up of production and assembling facility over a land base situated in Greater Noida, in Uttar Pradesh, India.

Meanwhile, Oppo has also announced its partnership with e-commerce giant Flipkart for exclusive online sales with the F1s Rose Gold Limited Edition launched on Thursday, priced at Rs 18,990.

Besides its existing facility in Greater Noida, the company is also planning a 1000-acre industrial park with an investment of over Rs 1,400 crore. Part of a long-term plan, operations in this park are expected to begin in the next two to three years.

"The company will begin operations at the new Surface Mount Technology (SMT) facility in Greater Noida in 2017 the part of their commitment under Make in India programme," person familiar to the development said.

SMT is a method for producing electronic devices in which the components are placed directly onto the surface of printed circuit boards (PCBs).

According to a recent report by Counterpoint Research, Oppo held 8 per cent share in October-December quarter in India, while a report by International Data Corporation (IDC) Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker says that the company had shipped 78.4 million phones, which is more than double of 35.4 million units that it shipped in 2015 in China.

Huawei came in at second, shipping 76 million phones and Vivo managed to almost double its shipments, going from 35 million in 2015 to 69 million last year.

Huawei came in at second, shipping 76 million phones, while Vivo managed to almost double its shipments, going from 35 million in 2015 to 69 million last year.

"The top three Chinese vendors (Huawei, OPPO, and vivo) are persistently applying pressure on Samsung within China thanks to a vast portfolio of affordable, well-built devices. Not only is this pressure coming at the low-end, but high-end devices like the P9, Mate 8, R9s, and XPlay6 haven proven viable options for consumers looking to upgrade or save money without sacrificing quality," said Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker